Ken Mays has announced the availability of a new OpenIndiana release, "Hipster" 2015.03. The new release provides updates to the GNOME 2 desktop, Intel video drivers and system libraries. "First of all, most evident changes were made in desktop area. We've updated Xorg server and libraries, which allowed us to incorporate some important security fixes from Oracle x-s12-clone and Debian Xorg. Also we've moved much more closely to GNOME 2.32. Most packages were updated to this level, excluding packages which either have a lot of specific patches (like gdm) or just dropped some significant functionality (like Cheese, which dropped HAL support in version 2.32). Not everything has gone smoothly. We had to drop trusted desktop support during update. I believe nobody seriously used it under OI. The most annoying thing is that updated Xorg and Intel driver require some DRM updates, which are still not ready. So, if you have Intel video card, either pkg freeze X-incorporation and Xorg, or use vesa driver." Further information is available in the project's release notes. Downloads: OI-hipster-gui-20150330.iso (1,200MB, SHA256).

Terry Fage has announced the availability of the first beta build of the upcoming SME Server 9.1, a CentOS-based specialist distribution for servers: "The Koozali SME Server (SME Server) development team is pleased to announce the release of SME Server 9.1 beta 1 which is based on CentOS 6.6. Changes in this release: dar - add pkgconfig and new upstream version; Workstation Backup, do not fail backup for mtime/ctime mismatch; change the sub checkMount() to findmnt; add requires nfs-utils; the nfs service is neither started or allowed to start; don't remove the apache group during restore; make pdbedit output independent from locale and time zone so it can be parsed; chown all DB files to ldap before staring slapd; set checkpoint in slapd.conf instead of DB_CONFIG; stop ldap on shutdown (rc0 and rc6); don't overwrite the ldif dump if slapcat's output is empty; run db_recover on startup; don't wipe LDAP DB when the ldif dump is empty...." Read the rest of the release announcement for a full changelog. Download: smeserver-9.1.beta1-x86_64.iso (732MB, MD5). The second beta of SME Server 8.2, the project's legacy branch, was also released today.

Gaurov Soni has announced the release of BlackArch Linux version 2015.03.29, an Arch Linux-based distribution designed for penetration testers and security researchers: "Today we have released new BlackArch Linux ISO images. The new ISO images include over 1,200 tools for i686 and x86_64 architectures and over 1,000 tools for armv6h and armv7h architectures. Here's a short changelog: lots of bug fixes; change splash for bootloader (syslinux / GRUB); updated pacman.conf settings; updated /etc/motd and /etc/issue updated BlackArch install scripts (version bump: 0.8); minor tweaks related to ISO builds; updated menu entries for Fluxbox, Awesome and Openbox; updated all tools; added more than 150 new tools. We wish to thank all of BlackArch's users, mirrors, and supporters. Thanks for your help." Visit the project's blog to read the brief release announcement. Download (SHA1) (this page also includes instructions for install BlackArch Linux on top of a base Arch Linux system): blackarchlinux-live-2015.03.29-x86_64.iso (3,605MB, torrent), blackarchlinux-netinst-2015.03.29-x86_64.iso (346MB, torrent).

The Zentyal development team has announced the launch of Zentyal 4.1. The Ubuntu-based server distribution is designed to be easy to install and configure and ships with a powerful collection of web-based system administration modules. "Zentyal development team is proud to announce Zentyal Server 4.1, a new release of the Zentyal open-source Linux small business server with native Microsoft Exchange protocol implementation and Active Directory interoperability. This release is completely focused on improving the stability and set of features delivered by the OpenChange module, based on Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS to provide the latest stable packages. Zentyal server comes in two different flavors: development version, for bleeding-edge testing of the latest available features and commercial version for stable production environments. Features: support for Microsoft Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013; multiple virtual mail domains; synchronization with mobile devices (ActiveSync support); central domain directory management...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download the installation CD image from here: zentyal-4.1-development-amd64.iso (584MB, MD5, pkglist).

Rodolphe Bachelart has announced the availability of a new edition of Voyager Live. Voyager "X", based on Voyager 14.04.4 LTS, is an experimental version built around the new Xfce 4.12 desktop which was only recently released. It also includes an updated Linux kernel, version 3.16. The entire layout of the desktop has been recoded and the scripts improved to work with the new Xfce. This is a version whose goal is to bring the latest Xfce and kernel improvements to some of the more recent computer systems. Although Xfce 4.12 is final, it has yet to be integrated into Ubuntu's official repositories; as such, it is considered as experimental. At the moment only a 64-bit ISO image is available for download, with a 32-bit variant possibly coming later if needed. This version of Voyager X has been tested extensively and it can be installed as an "official" Voyager. Xfce 4.12, coupled with Linux kernel 3.16, has made Voyager faster and more responsive, with many parameters optimised for better performance and with much improved hardware support. The release announcement (in French) offers more details and several screenshots. The announcement warns that due to the young nature of Xfce 4.12 and some Voyager features, users should backup their data prior to upgrading to the new release. Download (MD5) from SourceForge: Voyager-X-14.04.04-amd64.iso (999MB).

Alessio Fattorini has announced the release of NethServer 6.6, the new stable version of the project's CentOS-based specialist distribution for servers: "We are proud to announce a new NethServer release. This is a thrilling day for the whole NethServer community. It has been a journey to get to this point and we are so excited about the journey ahead of us. Upgrading from 6.6 RC1 is straightforward. From the Software Center page, just check for available updates. For previous releases, check out the release notes. At first login after system installation, the Server Manager displays the First Configuration wizard, where the administrator (root user) can set the password, change the host name, select the time zone and tune other security-related settings. We simplified the interactive installer removing some sections that were moved to the first configuration wizard. The Package Manager page has been renamed Software Center, and moved to the Administration section." See the release announcement and release notes for further details. Download (MD5): nethserver-6.6-x86_64.iso (455MB).

Curtis Gedak has announced the release of a new stable build of GParted Live, a Debian-based live CD with a collection of software applications designed for disk partitioning and data rescue tasks: "The GParted team is proud to announce a new stable release of GParted Live. This live image contains GParted 0.22.0 which now supports reading and writing file systems to disk devices without partition tables, in addition to supporting GPT partition names. Items of note include: based on the Debian's 'Sid' repository as of 2015-03-23; now uses systemd which is the new default system init on Debian; includes GParted 0.22.0: adds read and write support for unpartitioned whole disk devices; adds read and write support for GPT partition names. This release of GParted Live has been successfully tested on VirtualBox, VMware, BIOS, UEFI, and physical computers with AMD/ATI, NVIDIA, and Intel graphics." Here is the brief release announcement. Download (SHA256) links: gparted-live-0.22.0-1-amd64.iso (227MB, pkglist), gparted-live-0.22.0-1-i686-pae.iso (228MB), gparted-live-0.22.0-1-i586.iso (227MB).

The Black Lab Linux team has announced the launch of Black Lab Linux 6.5. The new release is available in a number of desktop editions and features improved hardware compatibility and fallback options for older machines. "Today we are pleased to announce the release of Black Lab Linux 6.5. With this release we continue to enhance and improve Black Lab Linux for public consumption. While the base is the same, the Open Distribution Release comes in four flavors. GNOME, MATE, Xfce and KDE. The Xfce release is built into the GNOME release because of customer demand. Some of our users run things like legacy 64-bit hardware, terminal services and certain systems where GNOME may not run all that great. So with that said here are some of the new features of Black Lab Linux: GNOME 3.10.4, MATE 1.8.1, KDE 4.14.2, Xfce 4.12, Linux kernel 3.13 LTS compatible, Linux kernel 3.16 default, VLC 2.2, Firefox 36, Thunderbird 31.5, Rhythmbox 3.1, FFmpeg 2.6, Google Chrome 41...." Further information can be found in the distribution's release announcement. Download (MD5): black-lab-linux-65_x86_64.iso (1,741MB, pkglist), bll-65-KDE-x86_64.iso (1,825MB), bll-MATE-65-x86_64.iso (1,706MB).

Martin Wimpress has announced the release of Ubuntu MATE 14.04.2, an updated build of the Ubuntu-based distribution featuring the MATE desktop environment. Although the DVD image name sports the LTS (long-term support) tag, this version of Ubuntu MATE is not an "official" Ubuntu flavour as the project was formally accepted as an Ubuntu family member just before the recent 15.04 beta 1 release. From the release announcement: "Ubuntu MATE 14.04.2 is available for download. This release fixes a few issues that were present in 14.04.1, adds some new features and updates some packages. It is important to state clearly that Ubuntu MATE 14.04.2 is not an official Ubuntu flavour! The upside of maintaining an unofficial Ubuntu derivative is that we can roll out new features and package updates. So we did, most notably LibreOffice 4.4.1. The advantage of the newer Linux kernel is that it resolves most of the screen tearing issues some people experienced in Ubuntu MATE 14.04.1." Download: ubuntu-mate-14.04.2-LTS-desktop-amd64.iso (983MB, MD5, torrent, pkglist).

antiX 14.4 "MX" has been released. This is the latest update of the project's special edition developed in collaboration with the MEPIS Community and featuring the Xfce desktop. "MX 14.4 'Symbiosis' available. Upgraded bug-fix editions (PAE and non-PAE) of MX 14 are now available. This version has fixed some bugs found in MX 14.3 and Debian upstream. MX 14.4 is based on Debian 'Wheezy' uses SysVInit so MX 14.4 offers a rock-solid systemd-free experience for those who would prefer to stick with SysVInit. MX is designed to be fast, stable and light on resources. The MX 14 series will be supported until the end of life of Debian 'Wheezy'. Bug-fix and upgrade release including quite a few new enhancements. What applications are used? Clementine for music, VLC for video, full LibreOffice suite, Iceweasel for web browsing, Claws-Mail for email, Mirage for image viewing, Minitube for watching YouTube videos...." Visit the project's wiki page to read the rest of the release announcement. Download: MX-14.4-pae.iso (694MB, MD5), MX-14.4-non-pae.iso (697MB, MD5).

Sunit Kumar Nandi has announced the launch of SuperX 3.0, code name "Grace". The new release, which is named after computing pioneer Grace Hopper, focuses on providing an attractive desktop solution on top of a stable platform. The release announcement mentions some of the features that go into making the distribution's desktop responsive: "Grace gives more priority to application responsiveness; you will feel it right from the start - a fast, smooth, responsive system. Grace, by default, compresses unused memory pages within RAM rather than swapping out to the swap partition, making it responsive even when the system memory is low. Commonly used applications are preloaded and cached in memory for faster start-up of your favorite applications. Grace features a beautiful startup splash that changes its background to whatever the user’s wallpaper is, giving SuperX a really smooth transition from the splash screen to the desktop. It features a flat design theme for the desktop shell, with bright, contrasting colors." SuperX 3.0 ships with KDE 4.13.3, Linux kernel 3.13 and a full range of multimedia support. Download: SuperX_3.0_Grace_64-bit.iso (1,741MB, MD5, pkglist).

Antoni Norman has announced the release of Pinguy OS 14.04.2, a point update of the project's Ubuntu-based Linux distribution with a customised GNOME Shell desktop: "I am happy to announce the availability of 14.04.2 point release. Apart from bug fixes and updating packages not a lot has changed from 14.04 Papercuts. So if you are running 14.04 Papercuts and have kept it updated there is no need to install the point release. Pinguy OS 14.04.2 is running Linux kernel 3.13 and the UEFI version of GRUB. If you had issues installing Pinguy OS on a UEFI-enabled system in the past, this should now be fixed. List of some of the pre-installed applications: Mozilla Firefox 36.0.4, Mozilla Thunderbird 31.5.0, Synaptic package manager 0.81.1, VLC media player 2.2.0 RC2, GNOME Tweak Tool 3.10.4, LibreOffice 4.2.7, Clementine 1.2.3, Shutter 0.93.1, PlayOnLinux 4.2.2, WINE 1.7.38." Here is the brief release announcement. The "Full" and "Mini" Pinguy OS 14.04.2 live DVD images are available for download SourceForge: Pinguy_OS_14.04.2-LTS-x86-64.iso (2,657MB, MD5, torrent), Pinguy_OS_14.04.2-LTS-Mini-x86-64.iso (1,947MB, MD5, torrent).

A new stable release of the Neptune distribution has been made available. The new release, version 4.3, provides users with more up-to-date software and a number of bug fixes. "This is the third service release to Neptune 4 and comes with improvements, bug fixes and updates. This includes Chromium in version 41, VLC in version 2.2, LibreOffice 4.3.3 as well as Icedove 31.5 and many more. The foundation of this release is represented by the current Debian 7.8 ('Wheezy')." The release announcement goes on to detail a number of fixes and improvements added to this release: "This new version also offers Updates for Kdenlive which bring in better codec support as well as a fix for the localization of video effects. Kernel 3.16.3 was updated with fixes for Btrfs and nouveau. There is also better Btrfs support with Grub 2.0.2 Beta 2. The problem with Persistent Creator in the live media not being able to format the persistency file on a non german localization has been solved. Smartphones and media players are now better supported with mtp library version 1.1.8. For a detailed overview take a look at our changelog." Download: Neptune43.iso (1,843MB, MD5, torrent, pkglist).

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